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The community orchard that started as a seed of hope in Shirl Smith’s heart is coming to fruition.

Four planter beds and rows of wooden stakes crisscross a vacant field just southeast of Waterstone Community Church on West Bowles Avenue. More than 130 trees will be planted within the next week or two, transforming the field into a patch of life and hope.

As the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High shootings approaches, two Columbine students want everyone to know that they’re done.

“We are done with all the drama,” said Beau Loendorf, a Columbine High senior. “We are done with the hate.”

And so Loendorf and Columbine sophomore Olivia Leyshock are organizing a “Day Without Hate.” The pair hope the event, scheduled for May 1, will inspire students to forgo their cliques, forget about petty conflicts, and realize there’s no need for division.

Six people accused of operating an ID theft ring and stealing more than $11,000 were indicted by a Jeffco grand jury March 31.

The ring used stolen checks, credit cards and gift cards to get cash, and electronics, jewelry and other items were also taken, said Jeffco District Attorney Scott Storey. The thefts allegedly occurred between September 2008 and December 2008.

Jeffco Public Schools officials are still waiting for direction on how federal stimulus money will flow to the district nearly two months after President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion package into law.

But Jeffco Superintendent Cindy Stevenson says the district will be ready to move on several programs once the money hits the district’s coffers, which may be sooner rather than later.

Colorado's largest school district has several programs it wants to expand once the estimated $23 million in federal stimulus money shows up.

Barely three months into his first term as congressman in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, Republican Mike Coffman already has two challengers gunning for his job in 2010.

The latest contender is Democrat David Canter, a Highlands Ranch resident who says his 20 years as a lawyer have given him the skills necessary to not only win the Democratic nomination but to beat Coffman.

A spring snowstorm slammed South Jeffco and much of the state on March 26, days after near-80-degree temperatures had some people putting their snow shovels and winter clothes away. But not everyone was disappointed by the foot of flakes that blanketed the area.

“This is the best day in my life,” said Kayla Beyerlein, who enjoyed a morning of sledding and laughs with her family March 27 on a gentle hill in Clement Park. Kayla, 6, was with her parents — Katie and Kevin Beyerlein — and her younger brother and sister.

A plan to use part of a Foothills Park & Recreation District park for a dog park has run into some snags, but the woman behind the proposal is not giving up.

“It was a curve I wasn’t expecting, but that just pumps me up even more to get this done,” said Lynda Fine, who’s been trying since November 2008 to establish an off-leash dog park in the area. “We can’t just sit back and let this drag on.”

South Jeffco’s state senator says an increase in vehicle registration fees will take money from Colorado taxpayers at a time when they can least afford to give it.

“My issue with this bill was that we’re in a recession, and family budgets are crunched,” said Sen. Mike Kopp, a Littleton Republican. “Maybe now is not the best time to gin up a very large new fee that functions basically like a tax on people.”

Five members of a South Jeffco family escaped uninjured March 25 after waking up to find their home in flames.

The early-morning blaze left the home at 7377 S. Flower St. uninhabitable, and the family will be displaced for at least six months.

The fire may have started near a backyard grill, according to Micki Trost, spokesperson for West Metro Fire Rescue. Flames traveled up the rear of the home and worked their way in, causing extensive damage. The homeowner woke up and was able to evacuate his wife and three daughters ages 7, 8 and 11.